In a new report published by Public Health England, it was revealed that 315 people in Yorkshire and the Humber were admitted to intensive care or high dependency units caused by confirmed cases of flu.

This figure is for the period between October and May and is the highest on record since at least the 2013/14 period.

It works out as a rate of 5.8 cases for every 100,000 people in the area and is a huge increase compared to last winter when there were just 117 cases, a rate of 2.1 cases per 100,000 people.

This winter, there were a total of 3,454 admissions to intensive care or high dependency units caused by confirmed cases of flu across the UK, including 372 deaths.

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In England only, there were 3,175 admissions and 320 deaths during the same period.

People aged 65 or older made up 42 per cent of all cases and 32 per cent of all cases were seen in the 45 to 64 age group.

The rate of intensive care admissions ranged from 4.3 per 100,000 people in South Central to 8.9 per 100,000 in Central Midlands.

Public Health England said in the 2017 to 2018 winter season, moderate to high levels of flu was observed in the UK, with both influenza B and influenza A(H3) circulating.

Peak admissions rates to hospital and ICU due to flu were higher than seen in the previous six winters.

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